Gudmundsson to replace Magnusson as West Ham chairman today

The Independent says Magnusson will make way for owner, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson.

The move is a highly significant one for West Ham and English football and amounts to a serious mark of intent from Gudmundsson, a previously reclusive billionaire businessman who has ambitious plans to challenge the Premier League superpowers.

Gudmundsson has decided that, given his ownership and investment, he wants to take full control and could also appoint his right-hand man, Asgier Fridgeirsson, on to the board, probably as vice-chairman. Another of his close aides, Thor Kristjansson, is already both vice-chairman of the holding company, WH Holdings, which owns West Ham and which Gudmundsson already chairs, and executive vice-chairman of the club.

West Ham are engineering an assault on the top-four with a new 60,000-seat stadium, expected to cost around £250m and to be financed privately by Gudmundsson, already in the planning stage, at the Parcelforce site close to the existing Boleyn Ground which will be sold. The new stadium will be built via the establishment of a separate company with Gudmundsson, who has property businesses throughout the world, using the expertise at his disposal.